Results 141-160 of 162 for going forward speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (2 Jul 2008)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...provision and to include Drogheda and south Louth in the DTA area thereby avoiding future problems. If they are included then planning in south Louth in terms of development and transport must go hand in hand. If they are not included, this will not happen. If under subsection (c) the Minister decides at a later date to add new areas what new arguments that have not been already put...

Killing of Paul Quinn: Statements (7 Feb 2008)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...its part in the administration of the Six Counties, as its members call it, or, as we would say, of Northern Ireland. That should not be put at risk. If this death means anything and if any good is to come of it, this House, the Government and the British Government should insist that the IRA disband and cease to exist. The meeting to which I referred was an open debate, where people...

Road Safety: Motion (Resumed). (12 Dec 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank everybody who contributed to the debate as there were many constructive comments from all sides. I welcome all of them. The key point in this Fine Gael motion, which the Government does not appear to accept and has failed to acknowledge, is our call on the Government to bring forward legislation as a matter of urgency to reform the penalty points system to ensure all fixed charge...

Road Safety: Motion. (11 Dec 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: This important motion tries to bring to the attention of the Government and the country the good aspects of the penalty points system and the reduction in deaths thanks to road safety, but also the problems in the system causing serious and sustained difficulties for the Garda, the administrators of the Courts Service and people who comply with the law generally. It is of concern that the...

Road Safety: Statements (31 Oct 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...who must be aged 28 years or over and whose licence has been clean for the previous three years. The learner driver must complete a log and a total of 3,000 kilometres with a supervisor before going out on the public road. Newly qualified drivers must display a special plate for their first year and their maximum speed is limited to 90 km/h. There is a great deal of work to be done in...

Road Safety: Motion (16 Oct 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...anywhere he should be it is here, and his absence is to be regretted, although that is no reflection on the Minister of State. I wish to put the record straight concerning the promises made by the Government and what it did and did not do. I pay tribute to the members of Public Against Road Carnage, PARC, particularly Mrs. Susan Gray and Mrs. Ann Fogarty, who are chairpersons of PARC in...

Road Traffic Offences. (10 Oct 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...words, 160,000 people are refusing to pay mandatory fines for speeding and other driving offences. Unless we change our driving habits, the death toll on our roads will continue to rise. The Government can take absolutely no satisfaction from today's report of a European survey showing that Ireland is 20th out of 29 countries in terms of tackling the issue of deaths on the roads....

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...just before the general election, the Minister for Transport, again in reply to a question from Deputy Finian McGrath, that wonderful Independent Deputy, gave the same response as in October 2006. Government policy, clearly enunciated right up to the general election, was very clear. At the heart of the transport policy and at the heart of Shannon Airport was an absolute commitment to...

Road Network. (26 Jun 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...willing to lose our archaeological past or give up our sense of ourselves and from whence we come. The current political mood questions where we are now and the way the Government wants to move forward. It is bent on building roads and servicing the building industry at whatever cost. That is its idea of progress. It is not progress, it is destruction, it is bad transport and social...

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank everyone who contributed to the debate, particularly Members on this side of the House. Those on the Government benches did not take up all the time allocated to them to make contributions. This Bill is about the future, not the past. We are living in an Ireland of change. The country has changed radically in many ways. The emphasis of the contributions on this side of the House...

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Fergus O'Dowd: My colleague has stolen my line. The white smoke is the smoke of truth and, while we may not burn ballot papers on this occasion, we will mark them with a pencil because of the mess this Government has made of the system and the €50 million it wasted on e-voting. This time, we want democracy to be followed openly, transparently and with the maximum involvement of the people. However, the...

Carbon Fund Bill 2006: Second Stage (14 Dec 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: This is an important debate but there is not sufficient time to fully tease out the arguments. What this country needs is leadership in terms of climate change but we are not getting that from the Government. We need leadership, a clear vision, a plan of action and, most importantly, a change in our own behaviour. The reality is that unless all of us make fundamental changes in our homes,...

Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Second and Subsequent Stages (12 Dec 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...I have always argued that there ought to be a finance committee that meets quarterly at least with the finance officers of a local authority to ensure that the budget is what it says it is and to go through all the financial proposals from each department in the council before the final proposal is put before councillors, which is happening as I speak. The problem is that councillors tend...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (5 Oct 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...the important matter of what is happening in St. Patrick's Institution, particularly rehabilitating and working with young first-time prisoners who have been convicted and incarcerated. I hope the Government will bring forward other legislation dealing with these matters. It is important our prison system forms part of our reform agenda. It is also important that our criminal justice...

Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (4 Jul 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...and the views of the elected members and the inspector. This amendment is an attempt to make the decision more transparent. The strategic infrastructure board is required to meet and may decide to go to the full board before a decision is made. If the strategic infrastructure board is of the same view with regard to section 37(A) and grants an application, the chairman may use his power to...

Waste Management: Motion. (20 Jun 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...have expressed serious concerned. I want to respond to issues covered in the Government's amendment, particularly the last part of it which refers to the system through which objections can be put forward. I will reflect briefly on the regional waste management plans. A criticism of those plans is that while each county council in the regions discussed those plans separately, the...

Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Second Stage. (24 May 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...not set out what the community gain will be from this multi-million euro expenditure, and I am not saying he should, but there should be some weighting. While the principle as stated in the Bill is good, it does not go far enough. We ought to work together, on all sides of the House, to ensure substantial but not prohibitive community gain. The Bill endows An Bord Pleanála with that power...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (4 Apr 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...from their constituencies of houses and apartments being built but not maintained, and in appalling condition. The residents cannot deal with the issues because the management company may have gone bust, cannot be found, or is not accountable. Accordingly, this Bill is important. I am sorry the Government did not see fit to support it. The Government has failed to recognise the need for...

Official Languages Act 2003: Motion. (15 Feb 2006)

Fergus O'Dowd: Fáiltím roimh an rún. Bheadh sé oiriúnach go mbeadh an díospóireacht seo ann go rialta. Tá an Teachta McGinley ag déanamhan-jab ó fuair sé an post seo. Tá meirg ar mo chuid Gaeilge ach tá na tuairimí a nochtfaidh mé chomh daingean agus chomh láidir agus a bhí siad riamh. Molaim gach duine ag a bhfuil suim sa chultúr agus sa Ghaeilge agus na himeachtaí ginearálta atá ag...

Housing Policy: Statements. (16 Nov 2005)

Fergus O'Dowd: ...authority housing list, which is the area of greatest need. As the Minister has not done his homework or got his facts right, this debate is taking place in a vacuum. He does not know where he is going and cannot tell us the facts. Fine Gael will ensure that everybody knows the figures, whatever they are. To inform this debate properly, we should have the figures but we do not. These are...